So, I am setting out to run the classic D&D module Against the Cult of the Reptile God, but not in D&D or some retroclone, but in Less is More. This is, mostly, an exercise in calibration, as I want there to be a rough correlation between starting characters in LiM and D&D 1e, since LiM is intended to be an OSR (or NSR, technically) game and that is an important metric.

Of course, I can’t just run it as is, because I have to be complicated. For one, I’m not interested in Greyhawk, but I am also not committed enough to this to want to teach this group about Eberron or Warlords of the Accordlands which no one but my spouse are familiar with, so we have no common D&D setting to work from. So, on a lark, I decided to use mythic Greece as a setting, since everyone is roughly familiar with Greek mythology.

Note: Also, it should be obvious, but just in case it isn’t, everything further contains spoilers for the adventure, so if your GM is thinking about running this, or you think it might be interesting to show them, then by all means, send them over, but some of the major elements of the adventure are going to be discussed in detail below.

Tweaks, Adjustments, and Changes

First there are some cosmetic adjustments, since I am setting this in a mythical ancient Greece. I am renaming Orlane to Thalamos, and the temple is dedicated to Demeter instead of Merrika. This will also necessitate a change in name for all the NPCs in the module. See the following chart to see the new names from the Key to Orlane section.

Location	Orig Name	New Name
1	Hewitt Twaine	Babrius
	Hewitt’s wife	Xanthippe
	Their sons	Laches and Isyllus
2	Grover Ruskadal	Avaris
	Donavan Allard	Zaleucus
	Hulbar Onfre	Procles
4	Nowell Graven	Hippolus
	His wife	Eurydice
	Mother-in-law	Cheilonis
	Their daughters	Agariste and Eirene
5	Galen Weaver	Iasus
	His wife	Apega
6	Bertram Beswill	Eudamidas
	Derek Desleigh	Demaphon
	Snigrot Dogroot	Conon
	Iggy Olivero	Terence
7	Haskali Ull	Exekias
	His wife	Agallis
	Erroll Rocklyn	Galen
	Wylie Dunn	Iophon
8	Killian Gade	Pausanias
	His wife	Elpinice
	Their children	Myron, Nicias, and Palladas
9	Dorian the Elf	Pharacidas the Satyr
	Llywillan the Elf	Archidamis the Dryad
10	Zakarias Ormond	Menander
	His wife	Myia
	Their sons	Machon and Lysuas
	Their daughters	Archidameia and Arete
11	Myron Tweed	Xenophilus
12	Shopkeeper	Timoleon
	His wife	Arignote
	Their sons	Xenocrates, Polyibius, and Kerykes
13	Farmer	Cimon
	Son	Damaphon
14	Carpenter	Attalus
	His wife	Asclepigenia
15	The smith	Boukris
	His wife	Aretaphila
	Their sons	Gorgias and Styphon
	Their daughter	Philotis
18	Woman	Polycrete
	Her sons	Theopompus, Zeno, and Rhoecus
19	Farmer	Scopas
	Wife	Praxilla
	Son	Nicocreon
20	Vilma Merridle	Antiochis
21	Misha Devi	Berenice
	Abramo	Callippides
	Cirilli Finla	Cynisca
22	Farmer	Onomacritus
	His wife	Arachidamia
	Their daughter	Atremisia
	Their son-in-law	Thessalus
23	Alan Clayborn	Lysimachus
	Marieke	Cratesipolis
25	Belba Crallon	Eryxo
	Ollwin	Megacles
26	Kenton Miller	Hypereides
	His sons	Ibycus, Favorinus, Euthydemus, Duris, and Ephailtes
27	Ramne	Cleisthenes
Dungeon	Carpenter’s son	Autolycus
	Carpenter’s daughter	Diotima
	Farmer’s wife	Aedesia
	Explictica Defilus	Vevilóno
	Garath Primo	Philotas
	Jarvis Ingigar	Bias
	Blayze Gobbar	Adeimantus
	Benn Griff	Chariton

Number two, the creatures in this adventure are all over the place, so I will be systematically exchanging them for more thematic enemies. Some may not have a problem with all the random monsters, but if I couldn’t think of a reason for it to be there, it got swapped.

I am also not a fan of undead being the default creature for evil cultists, since not every evil deity has some connection to them, nor should every good deity have something specifically against them. This is a holdover from the early days of D&D that heavily based its divine magic on accounts in the bible and other Christian literature. As luck would have it, however, there are a couple of mythic Greek creatures that can sub in to these niches, which also lends some additional interest to all the lizard-folk running around. I think the fact that the lizard-folk are the townsfolk that resisted the charm makes much more sense than just feeding them to random crocodiles.

Original Creature	Thematic Replacement
Goblins (forest)	Satyrs
Goblins (temple)	Askalabos*
Ghouls	Amphisnaena**
Skeletons/Zombies/Wights	Askalabos*
Troglodytes	Askalabos*
Ogre	Cyclops
Shrieker	Living Statue
Crocodiles	Corrupted Naiad
Misc snakes and frogs	Dire Viper
Giant Weasels/Centipedes	Dire Viper
Green Slime	Constrictor
Harpy	Basilisk
Giant Spider	Basilisk
Coffer Corpse	Basilisk
Bonesnapper	Hydra
Spirit Naga	Medusa***

Structural Changes

So, having read over the adventure, (and having watched a few really good video reviews by Seth Skorkowsy and Matt Coville) I know that I want to make some adjustments to the structure.

Number one, I intend to have each of the characters either have an inbuilt hook to the community of Thalamos, so that they have stakes in the investigation and This way they have a hook to begin with that will motivate them to figure out the mystery and also give them their Goal for the adventure. I created six backstories, so they could roll for it, if they wanted.

1. They are a former resident who has gotten word of trouble back home.
2. The character’s older brother traveled here with a caravan and hasn’t been heard from since (Phalaris is in the dungeon, or possibly has been charmed doesn’t recognize them).
3. They are an investigator sent by a wealthy merchant whose son has gone missing. (Lobon, he is also in the dungeon, since the character doesn’t have an emotional attachment, its less meaningful for this character to work against the party).
4. They are a representative from the temple in the capital, coming to check on why communiques have not been answered.
5. They are a monster hunter out on their first hunt, having heard there was a monster of some sort lurking in the swamp.
6. They have received a prophecy from the Oracle.

Second, I want to start with an action sequence to really drive home the danger and get their blood pumping. So, reptile cultists are going to attack on the road in, one per character, so that its an even fight. not too hard, but also not a cake walk, given the low health. After the battle the players recover a medallion featuring the image of a blindfolded woman with reptilian features and a “serpent dagger,” a dagger with a wave shaped blade (like kris knives in the real world) and a pommel that features a snake head.

Within town, I do not intend to bring the elves (now a Satyr and a Dryad) into the story unless the characters are desperately in over their heads. They are out of town seeking clues unless the party ends up needing them, in which case they can show up.

Finally, Cleisthenes (Ramne) is not going to accompany the characters, or even offer to, instead equipping them with the following gear:

• A scroll of Circle of Protection, Potency 5.
• A scroll of Dispel Magic, Potency 5.
• One healing and one stress potion apiece.

Conclusion

So, this is more than enough for this week. Sorry for the crazy charts, but it is nearly the only way to convey the information in a coherent manner. Its probably not even interesting to anyone but me, but regardless, here it is. Next week I plan on posting up the actual conversion information, like Channel Divinity powers, spell lists for the deities, gear, and of course, creature conversions.